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Address failure in punishing 1984 rioters: Punjab

New Delhi, Sep 23 IANS | 1 year ago

Punjab Monday urged the National Integration Council (NIC) to address the failure of the system in punishing those guilty of the 1984 massacre of Sikhs, after the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi.

Asserting that such punishment would prove the greatest confidence building measure, the state representative at the meeting here underlined the need to ensure justice in the aftermath of communal violence.

Representing Punjab in the NIC meeting, Punjab Information and Public Relations Minister Bikram Singh Majithia said failure to punish those guilty of the 1984 massacre of Sikhs in the national capital and rewarding killers with high office was not the best way to promote peace, harmony and national integration.

"The failure of the system to deliver justice even after 30 long years has caused deep resentment and led to a dangerous alienation," he said.

Majithia said Punjab was one of few states where no communal or caste riots have taken place after the post-partition trauma of 1947.

Emphasising the need to use social media for promoting national integration and tackling hate propaganda, Majithia said that the government must encourage citizens, especially youth, to use the social media in the right manner.

Recalling the unparalleled sacrifice of martyrs like Bhagat Singh and a number of other great freedom fighters from Punjab, Majithia said: "Why do we find no Indians in India? We only find Hindus or Muslims, Sikhs or Christians, Brahmins or Dalits, upper castes or lower castes."